Ruth Killius

Ruth Killius studied with Ulrich Koch and Kim Kashkashian and was principal viola player of the Camerata Bern. She played as soloist with renowned orchestras such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Residentie Orkest Den Haag, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Camerata Salzburg, Basler Sinfonie Orchester, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, MDR Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Symphony Orchestra, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Odense Symphony Orchestra. She is a regular guest at major festivals such as the Lucerne Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, the Edinburgh International Festival and the Helsinki Festival. She expands the standard repertoire for her instrument with contemporary music and also inspires composers: Heinz Holliger wrote a commissioned work by the Salzburg Festival – “Janus”, a double concert for violin, viola and orchestra. Furthermore the world premiere of the double concerto “That Subtle Knot”, a work dedicated to the duo Thomas Zehetmair and Ruth Killius, was presented with the Royal Northern Sinfonia in 2014.

In 1994 she founded the Zehetmair Quartet together with Thomas Zehetmair which meanwhile belongs to the most important string quartets. They received the "Gramophone Award, record of the year“ and four other prizes for their Schumann-CD. A recording of Hindemith’s string quartet no. 4 and Bartók’s no. 5 is labelled a reference recording by the media and was also rewarded the Diapason d’Or of the year. The ensemble also received the renowned Hindemith prize from the city of Hanau.

Ruth Killius published a solo CD with the complete cycle of Hindemith sonatas with NomadMusic in April 2018.The release of a CD with Bartók Viola Concerto and John Casken Double Concerto with ECM is planned for beginning of 2020.

Ruth Killius has bien professor for viola at the Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz from 2001 to 2003.

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